Category: Infrastructure

The National Cosmetic surgery statistics are in from last year and…

…it has now been confirmed that the number of people entering voluntarily into Cosmetic Surgery has once again increased.

This number has seen year-on-year increases for the past decade with many modern day conventions and cultures being blamed as a reason for a heightened sense of self-consciousness.

In the past year, over 51,000 surgical procedures were undertaken – a 13% increase over the previous year. Leading the top of these procedures were breast augmentations of which there were 9,652 undertaken in 2015 alone, this is a massive 12% increase over 2014. Other invasive procedures such as eyelid surgery, face lifts and breast reductions have seen significant rises in popularity as more and more men and women chose to go under the knife and take the risk of undergoing potentially life-threatening operations.

What motivates so many people each year to hand over large sums of cash for the sake of looking better?

The increased used in Social Media and the need to present oneself attractively through photographs has proven to be one of the leading reasons that surgeons are given when they ask their patients as to why they are getting their surgery in the first place. After a poll taken by over 750 certified plastic surgeons from the United States, these professionals have seen a 31% rise in surgery enquiries in relation to people needing to look better over social media accounts.

Whether you’re hoping to increase certain assets to impress your followers on Instagram or simply want to appear younger when you’re being tracked down by old school friends on Facebook – if you choose to pay for plastic surgery, you’ll be contributing to what is now a multi-billion pound industry in the UK.

Although there are thousands of trained medical professionals who specialise in the performance of advanced cosmetic surgeries there are also a countless amount of unregistered individuals who offer less invasive forms of cosmetic surgery at a cut-price, offering those without large sums of cash a quick fix to celebrity style beauty treatments.

For the more serious forms of cosmetic surgery, British would be-patients will find that they can still get some operations paid for on the NHS. For example, someone who struggles to breath through their nose will be able to visit a hospital for rhinoplasty surgery – this is deemed to be a serious, delicate operation that should not be undertaken lightly.

However, less intrusive operations such as lip filler and botox treatments can be purchased from hair-dressers and even undertaken in the comfort of the patient’s own home. The people that perform these operations are often untrained in surgical methods and are uninsured – putting the patient at great personal risk.

Although there have been investigations made by the government into the proliferation of unlicensed amateur plastic surgeons – the problem of untrained practitioners practising in homes around Great Britain is one that has not been solved yet. The Health Education England advisory board, in the mean time, has developed a qualification for those wishing to train in injecting dermal fillers.

This graduate level certificate, however, is by no means compulsory.

The Merseyside is area is one that has been blighted with high Unemployment levels for the past three decades.

Constantly left behind the curve when it comes to urban redevelopment and sorely lacking in the financial support that the ares so deserves, the city and surrounding county may finally be seeing a shift in the balance of things.

As recently as November, the National Housing Federation issued a statement based on their ‘Home Truths’ Report – a document detailing the true cost of home ownership within the United Kingdom and it’s various regions. Within this report were also statistics pertaining to the numbers of those living unemployed in the Merseyside area and the affect that this has on those looking to buy a home in the future.

Although the national unemployment rate (when considering those of working age) is around 6.2% this number is much higher when considering Merseyside alone. As of November, Merseyside’s unemployment rate is considerably higher than the national average at 10% (in Liverpool itself, this number was an even higher 12%). This is something that might well be set to change as it’s emerged this year that Liverpool is now one of the top cities in the UK to find a job.

Increased investment from established companies, as well as a growing number of new start-ups and a burgeoning restaurant scene, has led to Liverpool being named the number one city in the UK to find a job in.

The amount of vacancies that can be found in the city has reported to have risen by as much as 23% over the New Year with jobs in industries such as Healthcare, Hospitality in addition to 140 new roles as Constables for the Merseyside Police.

This sharp rise in business opportunities in Merseyside area has put it head and shoulders above other major cities in the UK. In London, vacancies rose by 19% and in Southampton and 18% rise was seen in job opportunities.

Of course, an increase in job vacancies will always lead to an increase in applications, as graduates and those entering the job market for the first time rush to get their feet in the door. Applications have risen in line with vacancies by 24% compared to this time last year.

What does this mean for the South Sefton area then?

An increase in job vacancies in the Merseyside area can only be seen as a good thing. Although we might not be able to see a dramatic increase in our day-to-day lives immediately, it’s certainly good to hear some positive news about increasing prosperity in our area. The more people that invest in our local economy, the more we’ll be able to see unemployment levels drop.

With the increase of vacancies across the Merseyside area a rising interest in apprenticeship schemes has also been seen, as would-be students aim to avoid sky-rocketing tuition fees in favour of learning a vocation that allows them to earn money straight off the bat.

Although it might be hard to discern initially, the tides of prosperity are shifting in Merseyside.

In a few years, perhaps, we can start to properly compete with the rest of the country as we can hope to see our local unemployment rate drop in line with the rest of the country.